Over the last two decades we have seen a shift in the operational practices of academic institutions. For a host of complex reasons, the board members of many universities have felt obliged to adopt and apply business-oriented concepts, structures, and practices to ensure that their institutions continue to operate in the black. The consequence of this trend is the emergence of a pattern of business-oriented decision-making practices - which has led to a fundamental restructuring of many academic institutions - and rapid movement toward what can only be termed a «corporate culture.»
One of the more disturbing consequences of the corporatization tendency is the philosophical divide that it has created between administrators - who are themselves increasingly bound by the business-centered approaches of board members - and faculty members - who tend to emphasize the profession's vital contributions to society over everything else.
This conflict of ideals is playing out everywhere, of course; but after fifteen years in this profession, working in three different countries, I have never seen the philosophical divide displayed so starkly as I have at HVL. Recent articles in Khrono about private offices bear witness only to the tip of the iceberg. I will not get into too many details here, as there are many faculty members at HVL who have more familiarity with administrative mechanisms and the conversations that happen behind closed doors than me.
Speaking anecdotally, however, it can be argued that many of the instructions that we have received from our leader
